Buying in the District runs through the same broad stages as most states — offer, inspection, financing, title, closing — but a few pieces are handled differently, and one is close to unique in the country: DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which can genuinely reshape a transaction involving an occupied multi-unit building. This walks through where DC’s process diverges from the generic version.
DC closings are usually run by a title company, not an attorney
DC doesn’t require an attorney at closing. A licensed title company (often with attorneys on staff, since DC allows attorney-led title companies) can handle the full settlement — preparing documents, managing funds, issuing title insurance — and that’s how most residential purchases close. Attorneys are common and genuinely useful for anything more complex: a condo or co-op conversion, a TOPA situation, or a purchase with negotiated terms outside the standard form contract. Nothing requires one for a routine purchase, though.
The title search, and where the records live
DC has no county government at all, so both roles that a county would normally split are handled directly by District agencies. The Real Property Tax Administration (within the Office of Tax and Revenue) values property, and the Recorder of Deeds — also part of OTR — records deeds, mortgages, and liens. Because DC isn’t in RefPages’ County Records directory yet, use the State Government directory to find the Recorder of Deeds and Real Property Tax Administration’s own record-search tools directly.
The recordation-and-transfer tax is one of the more notable combos in the country
DC charges two separate taxes on a sale: a transfer tax, customarily paid by the seller, and a recordation tax, customarily paid by the buyer. For most residential sales, each is 1.1% of the price (2.2% combined) on sales under $400,000, and 1.45% each (2.9% combined) at or above that price. That $400,000 line is a fixed number set in D.C. Code § 42-1103 — it hasn’t moved since it took effect in 2006, so there’s no annual figure to chase here. What does move every year is a separate, more generous program: qualifying first-time buyers can get the recordation tax cut all the way to 0.725% on an eligible house or condo, but only under a purchase-price cap that the Office of Tax and Revenue resets each fiscal year — $777,000 for FY2026 (effective October 1, 2025) — plus income limits, so confirm the current cap with your title company or OTR before assuming you qualify.
What sellers have to disclose — and can’t let you waive
Under the District’s Residential Real Property Seller Disclosure Act (D.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 13), sellers of property with four units or fewer must give buyers a completed disclosure statement, and — unlike some states — buyers can’t waive their right to receive it. The seller (not the listing broker, property manager, or HOA/condo/co-op association) has to fill it out personally. If the home was built before 1978, federal law layers an additional requirement on top: disclosure of any known lead-based paint hazards, plus the EPA pamphlet. A narrow set of transfers — between co-tenants, foreclosure sales, court-ordered transfers like probate or divorce, and new construction never previously occupied — are exempt from the disclosure requirement.
TOPA: the DC-specific issue that can genuinely complicate a purchase
The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act is close to unique to DC and matters most if you’re buying a building with existing residential tenants — an apartment building, a rooming house, or a condo/co-op conversion. TOPA gives tenants the right of first refusal before the building can be sold: they can buy it themselves (individually or as a tenant association, often with a developer partner), assign their purchase right to another buyer, or negotiate concessions before agreeing to let the sale proceed. It has genuinely delayed or redirected sales in the District.
The good news for most home buyers: an owner-occupied single-family home without tenants is largely outside TOPA’s reach, with narrow exceptions for elderly or disabled tenants, and DC’s RENTAL Act of 2025 — the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Act (effective December 31, 2025) — further narrowed the law’s scope. It exempts 2–4 unit buildings not owned in majority by a business corporation, and it exempts new multifamily construction from TOPA for the first 15 years after the building receives its certificate of occupancy (though tenants still get a notice of transfer even when the building itself is exempt). If you’re buying anything with current tenants, confirm TOPA status with your title company or attorney early, since it can affect your timeline in a way nothing else in this process will.
After closing
If an inspection turns up something that needs permitted work, RefPages’ Building Permit Departments directory links to the relevant District permitting office.